Glassware transferring device



y 9, 1955 w. HAYES GLASSWARE TRANSFERRING DEVICE Filed Oct. 51, 1950 INVENTOR WILLIAM HAYES ATTORNEY United States Patent GLASSWARE TRANSFERRING DEVICE William Hayes, Millville, N. J., assignor to Armstrong Cork Company, Lancaster, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application October 31, 1950, Serial No. 193,257

Claims. (Cl. 209--72) This invention relates to a take-out device for transemploy a bottle closure having an applicator attached to the underside thereof in such manner that the shaft of the applicator passes through the narrow passage in' the neck of the bottle. If the bottle neck has a restriction on the interior finish, the applicator shaft will not pass therethrough freely.

In the event glassware having the defect referred to above is produced on the glass-making machinery, it is desirable to remove it as early as possible to prevent performing additional operations thereon. A convenient point at which to remove the glassware from the processing line is the point at which the ware is transferred from the conveyor of the conventional I. S. machine to the next piece of processing equipment, such as the lehr. In order to perform this operation, the transfer tongs used to transfer the glassware from the I. S. machine conveyor to the lehr have been provided with a plunger which drops into the opening in the mouth of the bottle. In the event the interior neck finish is properly formed, the plunger merely falls freely into the bottle opening, the tongs close and the glassware is transferred by the tongs from the conveyor to the lehr. However, in the event of a restriction in the neck of the bottle, the plunger will not enter, the tongs will not close, and the tongs are raised without carrying with them the defective bottle. The bottle merely falls off the end of the conveyor into a suitable collecting receptacle. I

An object of this invention is to provide a detector device for detecting choke neck glassware.

Another object of this invention is to provide a take-out device which will not transfer glassware from the I. S. machine to the lehr in the event the glassware has a restriction in the interior of the neck portion.

In order that this invention may be more readily understood, it will be described in connection with the attached drawing, in which Figure l is a cross-sectional view of a glassware takeout device in which the tongs are closed ready to remove the bottle from the I. S. machine conveyor; and

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the position of the various elements when operating on a bottle having a restriction in the neck which prevents the closing of the tongs.

In the drawings there is illustrated a take-out device comprising an air cylinder 2 which operates a pair of tong arms 3 through links 4. Positioned beneath the actuating cylinder 2 is a plate 5 which is bolted to the supporting mechanism 6 by means of bolts 7. The plate 5 shown on the drawing is on the back of the device, a similar plate on the front of the device having been removed in order to facilitate showing of the position of the various ele ments in the device. It will be understood that the plate 5 shown on the back of the device is parallel to another similar plate placed on the front of the device, and the lower extremity 8 of the two plates is connected across the bottom by means of a plate 9. These three plates, the two plates 5 and the plate 9, form a U-shaped housing positioned between the air cylinder and the tong arms. Positioned in the center of plate 9 is a cylinder 10. An opening 11 is provided in plate 9 coinciding with the interior opening in the cylinder 10. Positioned in the cylinder 10 in such manner that it can move freely therein is a piston 12, having an enlarged upper end or flange 13 which extends over the top edge 14 of the cylinder 10, preventing the piston from falling out of the cylinder.

The tong arms 3 are pivotally attached to the lower part of plates 5 by means of pivot pins 15 which pivot in holes in plates 5. Attached to the top portions of the tong arms 3 and extending at approximately right angles thereto are links 16, one end of which pivots about the pivot pin 15 and the other end of which pivots about a pin 17 in the end of links 4. The lower extremity of tong arms 3 is provided with glassware-engaging members 18 which engage the glassware 19 at a point below the projection 26 on the neck of the glassware so that same will lift the glassware to transfer it from one machine to another.

Positioned on the side of the tong arms 3 are adjustable screws 21 which areadjusted to fit into recesses 22 on either side of the piston 12. The positioning of the adjusting screws 21 and the recesses 22 on the piston 12 is such that when the piston 12 is in the lower position shown at Figure l, the ends of the adjustable screws 21 will fit into the recesses 22, permitting the tong arms 3 to close so that the glassware-engaging members 18 engage the glassware.

In the event the glassware has a restriction 23 in the neck as shown in Figure 2, the plunger 24 on the end of the piston 12 prevents the piston from dropping to the point where the adjustable screws 21 will fit into recesses 22. When this condition exists, the adjustable screws 21 engage the exterior surface of the piston, preventing the tongs from closing. When the transfer mechanism is raised, the entire assembly moves upward; but it does not carry the glassware with it.

In order to accommodate different sizes of bottle necks, the piston 12 is providedwith a removable plunger 24 which is held in the bottom of the piston by means of a set screw 25. The plunger should preferably be of a diameter equal to the minimum diameter permitted in the interior of the glassware. When changing from one type :of glassware to another, it is a relatively easy operation to insert a different plunger 24 in the end of the piston. Also, when converting over to another size of glassware, it may be necessary to adjust the length of the screws 21 in order that the glassware-engaging members 18 will be held farther apart or will be allowed to come closer. depending on the exterior size of the bottle neck. This adjusting is accomplished by turning the screw head 26 until the screw is properly positioned and then locking ice the same in that position by means of the locking nut 27.

In the operation of this device, the take-out assembly is lowered over the glassware on the conveyor; and if the glassware 19 has no restriction in the neck as shown in Figure 1, the plunger 24 drops freely into the opening in the neck of the bottle and the piston 12 is in its lower position. This brings the recesses 22 in the piston 12 into register with the adjustable screws 21 attached to tong arms 3. As the cylinder 2 moves downwardly, the links 4 push down on the ends of links 16, pivoting links 16 around pivot points 15 and urging tong arms 3 toward one another until the glassware-engaging members 18 surround the glassware so that it cannot slip therethrough when the take-out device is raised. As the take-out device is raised, it carries with it the glassware and transfers it to the lehr or the next processing machine, whatever it may be.

In the event the plunger 24 cannot drop freely into the opening in the neck of the bottle 19, the piston IE2 is held in the position shown in Figure 2 in which the recesses 22 in the side of the piston 12 do not register with the adjustable screws 21. When this condition exists, the air cylinder 2 cannot force the tong arms 3 toward one another, since such movement is restricted by the adjustable screws 21 which engage the maximum diameter of the piston 12. This prevents the glassware-engaging members 13 from coming close enough together to engage the glassware. When this occurs, raising of the entire mechanism will permit the glassware-engaging members 18 to raise without engaging the bottle; and, therefore, the glassware continues on the conveyor and drops 01f the end into a suitable receptacle.

It will be seen from the above that I have developed a relatively simple device for detecting the presence of a choke neck restriction in bottles, which device is effective for preventing the take-out equipment from engaging the defective glassware and transferring it to the next processing step.

I claim:

1. In a take-out device for transferring glassware, the elements comprising a housing, a movable cylinder in said housing capable of movement with respect to said housing, a pair of glassware-engaging tong arms pivotally attached to said housing and operated by said cylinder, a plunger projecting from said housing between the tong arms and in the same vertical plane as the plane of operation of the tong arms, said plunger being in axial alignment with the neck opening of the glassware over which the take-out device is positioned, said plunger being capable of relative vertical movement with respect to said housing and said tong arms, and stop means located on the tong arms to restrict the closing movement of the tong arms in the event the plunger is not in its fully extended position, said plunger being provided with recesses therein which are in alignment with the stop means on the tong arms when the plunger is in its fully extended position.

2. In a take-out device for transferring glassware, the

elements comprising a housing, a movable cylinder in said housing capable of movement with respect to said housing, a pair of glassware-engaging tong arms pivotally attached to said housing and operated by said cylinder, a plunger projecting from said housing between the tong arms and in the same vertical plane as the plane of operation of the tong arms, said plunger being in axial alignment with the neck opening of the glassware over which the take-out device is positioned and being capable of relative vertical movement with respect to said housing and said tong arms, and stop means on the tong arms so positioned as to engage the plunger and restrict closing movement of the tong arms when the plunger is not in its fully extended position.

3. In a take-out device for transferring glassware, the elements comprising a housing, a movable cylinder in said housing capable of movement with respect to said housing, a pair of glassware-engaging tong arms pivotally attached to said housing and operated by said cylinder, at plunger projecting from said housing between the tong arms in the same vertical plane as the plane of operation of the tong arms, said plunger being in axial alignment with the neck opening of the glassware over which the take-out device is positioned, said plunger being capable of relative vertical movement with respect to said housing and said tong arms, and stop means provided on the tong arms to restrict the closing movement of the tong arms, said plunger being provided with recesses in alignment with said stop means when the plunger is in its fully extended position.

4. In a detector device for detecting choke neck glassware, the elements comprising a housing, a movable cylinder in said housing capable of movement with respect to said housing, a pair of glassware-engaging tong arms pivotally attached to said housing and operated by said cylinder, a plunger projecting from said housing between the tong arms in the same vertical plane as the plane of operation of the tong arms, said plunger being in axial alignment with the neck opening of the glassware over which the detector device is positioned, said plunger being capable of relative vertical movement with respect to said housing and said tong arms, and stop means positioned on said tong arms to engage the plunger and restrict the closing movement of the tong arms when the plunger is not in its fully extended position.

5. In a detector device for detecting choke neck glassware, the elements comprising a housing, a movable cylinder in said housing capable of movement with respect to said housing, a pair of glassware-engaging tong arms pivotally attached to said housing and operated by said cylinder, a plunger projecting from said housing in the same vertical plane as the plane of operation of the tong arms, said plunger being in axial alignment with the neck opening of the glassware over which the detector device is positioned and being capable of relative vertical movement with respect to said housing and said tong arms, and stop means positioned on said tong arms to engage the plunger, said plunger being provided with recesses in alignment with said stop means on the tong arms when the plunger is in its fully extended position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 610,931 Vernay Sept. 20, 1898 1,878,951 Madison Sept. 20, 1932 2,097,130 Miller Oct. 26, 1937 2,352,091 Fedorchak et al June 20, 1944 

